Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 11:00:39 -0500 From: Kkroeker Reply-To: Canals To: Canals Subject: Trip report part 1 (longish)(XP) Hello all, Here is part 1 of the trip report. In it you won't find a lot of language around how a bad boat spoiled my holiday because it didn't. I suppose that could have been the case several years ago, and I do share Terry's concern about first-timers, especially those coming from overseas. I wonder, for example, how many newcomers would have a UK compatible cellphone with them, or be able at need to find a phone. Then of course is the "What's over the hill" problem. Last year I found myself with an engine that wouldn't turn over in a spot on the North Oxford where there wasn't a phone (not an obvious one anyway) for what seemed to be miles. Fortunately, the basic nature of people (especially boaters) is to be helpful, and people in distress I believe will find help if they make their needs known. Terry's notion of a guide for newbies is a good one. A little preparation can make all the difference. Things happen, let's face it and even the best maintained boat can break. In my own experience as a hirer, I have hired 3 times from 2 companies. Events occured the first 2 times that made me realize a cell phone was an essential item. As it happened I had cause again this year to need a cellphone to call the hire firm, though a temporary fix was just a Welsh dragon away. I came to the canals to have a good time and visit with friends and so I did. It would take a deal more than a flat battery, wonky floor and a little cold to spoil a canal holiday for me. Ken September 21/2000 Left Winnipeg at 4PM (10 PM in London), and arrived in London at 8:45 AM. The trip by Heathrow express to Paddington, and tube to Euston Square took until 10:40. Boarding the 10:58 train, we arrived in Stafford at 12:42. The same cab driver that picked us up 2 years ago drove us out to Great Haywood (where we unloaded our luggage) and then back into Stafford for shopping. A priority this year was to purchase a cell phone, which we got at Tesco along with the groceries. I settled on a Btcellnet phone for 39.95 with an accessory kit (contained the 12 V adapter) for 12.95. We got a cab to take us back to the base with our supplies, and after a walk through the boat we were on our way along the T&M just before 3PM. We cruised on to Fradley junction, doing the last hour or so in darkness. Dinner at the Swan was good, and we retired almost immediately - a long day. September 22/2000 Left Fradley Junction at 7:15, after first topping up the water tank. We continued on enjoying the scenery and wondering what the nasty bits of this canal would look like if the Trent were in flood. Very tame today, no difficulty at all. Last year the locks at Fradley were all overflowing and signs were posted regarding access to the Trent. While locking down we encountered a young lad (Anthony) and his mother out for a walk. I asked Anthony if he would like to help work the lock. Raising a paddle was a struggle for him, but he succeeded. We then invited Anthony and his Mother to ride along for a bit. His Mother told us that 11 year old Anthony was autistic and required constant attention. He seemed to enjoy the ride and steered a while with mixed success. It was his first trip on a narrowboat and his first chance at steering a boat of any kind. Anthony's mother volunteered that they were shortly off on a holiday in Greece (3 people, 1 week, 300 UKP) - the pound, though off bit still makes holidays away quite cheap compared to hiring a boat and staying home. We stopped for lunch at a bar/restaurant called the Mill and had a nice lunch, after which I left my hat on the table and we left - My favorite hat too! Shortly thereafter we had our first experience with wide locks. This particular lock had double geared gate paddles and it seemed I was cranking forever. The lock also took forever to fill. My first experience with gate paddles in wide locks was enlightening as the amount of water that comes through is quite awesome. It's easy to see how an accident could happen. My previous experience being all with narrow locks, some of the group discussions about the accidents which had occured had left me a little curious as to what had actually happened. Later we passed a wide beam trip boat, another first for me. Still later a young lady steering a narrowbeam boat resembling a Dutch barge (with a tiller forward of the steerrer - odd) passed us. When she waved at us, she took her eyes of the boat for a moment and ran the boat into the bank. They were a while sorting it out. We stopped for the night above Aston Lock, just before Shardlow where we intend to visit tomorrow before meeting Brian for lunch in Redhill. ---